1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the structural design of press-button switches and, more particularly, to a switch structure having display and playback functions.
2. Description of Related Art
An improved electrical connection structure for use in a press-button switch is now commercially available. Basically, a flexible flat cable is provided in a base and is connected to the circuit board supported on a movable support. When the switch housing is pressed, a frame therein and the movable support are moved downward such that the electrical contacts at the bottom of the movable support are in contact with the conductive terminals in the base to provide electrical connection. The flexible flat cable, which changes its physical configuration with the upward and downward movement of the frame and the movable support, does not require additional force to be applied when pressing the switch housing. Once the movable support is provided on the base, the ridges on the four inner walls of the bottom receiving space of the movable support are respectively engaged with the position-limiting blocks in the guide grooves in the four outer lateral sides of the base. The guide grooves serve to guide the ridges of the movable support, allowing the movable support to move smoothly up and down. The conductive terminals and the flexible flat cable are inserted in the through holes and through slot in the base respectively and can be directly detached from the base to facilitate replacement and maintenance.
While the foregoing product effectively reduces the pressing force required, enhances the smoothness of movement of the entire mechanism, and enables easy maintenance and replacement, the internal structure for electrically connecting the circuit board to the LED screen—implemented by contact between the electrical contacts at the bottom of the movable support and the conductive terminals in the base—has the following drawbacks, despite the fact that the aforesaid design allows unhindered upward and downward movement of the movable support and that the electrical contacts have the incidental shock-absorbing and impact-cushioning effects. First, the conductive terminals provided in the base hugely complicate the internal structure of the press-button switch. Second, the distance between the base and the movable support increases the thickness of the switch, which goes against the current trend of making smaller and more compact switches.